Tim Levin/Insider
- General Motors has paused the sale of its new Chevy Blazer EV because of software issues.
- The company did not confirm what the issues related to but did say they were not safety-related.
- These issues come as demand for EVs in the US appears to be cooling.
General Motors has said it is pausing the sale of its new $57,000 Chevy Blazer EV because of software issues.
The carmaker told CNN that those who have bought the car since it went on sale in mid-2023 will be asked to bring it into a local dealership for a software update.
Scott Bell, a vice president of Global Chevrolet, told CNN in a statement that a "limited number of customers have experienced software-related quality issues" with the car, the broadcaster reported.
Per the outlet, he added: "Customer satisfaction is our priority and as such, we will take a brief pause on new deliveries."
GM didn't specify the issue but CNN reported they did say it was not safety related and not connected to the car's Ultimum battery-powered system or its Google Built-In system that gives the driver access to Google Maps, Google Assistant, and Google Play store.
Business Insider contacted GM for further comment but did not hear back before this article went live.
News of this software update comes just days after a driver reviewing a Chevy Blazer EV said they had to abandon the car after it broke down while charging in rural Virginia.
The driver said it wasn't clear whether the charger or the car was to blame.
GM isn't the only carmaker to be facing software issues.
Tesla issued two separate recalls this month for over-the-air software updates.
Its first recall impacted more than 2 million of its cars in the US after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said that its Autopilot system didn't do enough to prevent drivers from misusing it.
Though it's expected to be a record year of growth for the American EV market, demand appears to be cooling, and some manufacturers have cut back on production.
GM said it would spend $35 billion on EV development between 2020 and 2025. Its CEO, Mary Barra, predicted 2023 would be "a breakout year" for EV production.
But the company was hit with production line issues and slowing consumer demand, causing it to abandon plans to build 500,000 EVs by the first half of 2024.